Funding

ARTICLES ABOUT FUNDING BY DATE - PAGE 4

The Home Builders Association of Washington County recently presented a donation of $600 to the Transition Skills Program at Washington County Technical High School for the students to purchase home tool kits. The students learn the skills in school to work with all of the tools in the kit, and then they are able to take the kits with them when they graduate. This is the second year the association has provided the funds for the tool kits....

Catie Breslin is living proof there have been advances in cystic fibrosis research. When she was born, the average age a person with CF expected to live was age 18. Today, it's 37. That's why the 21-year-old Hagerstown native is hoping that people will dig into their pockets for the chance to sweat for the Zumbathon for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The event is from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 18, at St. Mary's Catholic School in Hagerstown. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, CF is an inherited, chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the U.S. and 70,000 worldwide.

Since her daughter's death a year ago, Jonna Vinci said she has been hearing stories about what a wonderful person Samantha Kelly was. “I've been proud all year,” Vinci said Sunday afternoon during an event at The Improved Order of Red Men Tribe 84 in Williamsport to raise money for a scholarship program in Kelly's honor. Members of the championship Williamsport High School girls volleyball team made the memories even sweeter for Vinci. Members of the team - of which Kelly once served as the captain - presented Vinci with a ring that had Kelly's name, team number and “in memory of” inscribed on it. Vinci showed the silver ring as she and her husband, Brian, checked people in at the fundraiser.

The administrator and former chief of The Volunteer Fire Co. of Halfway, Md. Inc., requested a jury trial on theft and theft scheme charges during an appearance Thursday in District Court. District Judge Ralph H. France II ordered the case of Jeffrey C. Ringer forwarded to Circuit Court. Ringer, 53, of 11221 Hollywood Road in Hagerstown, was charged earlier this year with misusing more than $10,000 in company funds over four years to pay for bar and restaurant bills, and a family member's tuition, according to the application for statement of charges filed by Maryland State Police.

The Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday unanimously accepted a grant that will provide 1,100 energy conservation kits to local electric customers whose meet income guidelines. The 2013 EMPOWER Clean Energy Communities Grant from the Maryland Energy Administration will give the Hagerstown Light Department $71,000 to purchase and distribute the kits to qualified customers living in the 21740 and 21742 zip codes. According to an April 16 memo from city Director of Utilities Michael S. Spiker, “Utilizing Department of Energy calculations, the eight-piece kit will be capable of conserving approximately 495 kWh per year per household or totalized on our system as 527,000 kWh per year.” The kits will go to individuals, households or facilities having incomes that are 85 percent or less of the state-established Washington County Median Income Limit of $67,000.

Lynn and Rick Bibbee's story is one of hope and heart. It's a story about caring and compassion and taking dedication to a whole different level. It's about putting their efforts into preserving a place where all of God's creatures, big and small, exist in harmony. It's about saving a zoo. A few years ago, the Hagerstown couple didn't even know Tri-State Zoological Park existed in Cumberland, Md. - despite the fact that they had lived there for many years. But during a visit to the area last March, Rick Bibbee picked up a local magazine and spotted a discount coupon for admission to the zoo. When he returned home, he shared the information with his wife and the two decided to make it a destination.

The following appropriations for area fairs and festivals were included in the 2013-2014 budget bill that state lawmakers approved this week, according to the enrolled final version of the legislation posted on the Legislature's website: Berkeley County Apollo Theater-Summer Program, $1,710 Belle Boyd House, $1,710 Berkeley County Youth Fair, $15,818 General Adam Stephen Memorial Foundation, $15,840 ...

The Franklin E. “Wimp” Hamburg Scholarship was established by his children Christi (Hamburg) Weaver, Patti (Hamburg) Grimes and Dean Hamburg in the spring of 2000 following their father's death. Hamburg was a lifelong resident of Boonsboro and was active with the children and students who lived in the community. He was a co-founder of South Mountain Little League, Junior Basketball League and the Junior Olympics. In addition, he also coached many teams in the Boonsboro community.

Greenbrier Elementary School students recently presented $1,020 to the Humane Society of Washington County, the nonprofit organization of student choice after a presentation in a Gifted and Talented Education, or GATE, enrichment class of fourth- and fifth-grade students. Students researched 10 charities and gave a PowerPoint presentation, which led to a student vote in which the humane society was selected as the beneficiary of a fundraising effort. The “Make a Difference” coin drive coordinated by the class was conducted schoolwide.

U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster has introduced legislation he said would stop the wasteful mismanagement of funds while securing work for Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg. Shuster, R-Pa., opposes continued development funding of the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) program. “MEADS is a failure, and we can no longer afford to continue spending millions of dollars on a program that DoD has stated they have no intention of completing,” Shuster said in a news release. While visiting the Chambersburg depot last week, Shuster said he would prefer funding designated for MEADS instead be invested in the Patriot missiles systems developed at Letterkenny.